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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-14-1991 Adopted CC Min Study SessionJOINT PLANNING COMMISSION/CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION -.February 14, 1991 A special joint Dublin Planning Commission and City Council study session meeting was held on February 14, 1991 in the Regional Meeting Room at the Dublin Civic Center. The meeting was called to order at 7:38 p.m. by Mayor Snyder. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmembers Burton, Jeffery,. Moffatt, and Mayor Snyder; Planning Commissioners Burnham, North, Rafanelli, and Zika. ABSENT: Councilmember Howard and.-~Commissioner Barnes. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Mayor led the Council, Staff, and those present in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. EAST DUBLIN GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT STUDY Planning Consultant Brenda Gillarde presented the revised Preliminary Draft General Plan Land Use Map and explained that modifications had been made to the map in response to the comments 'and concerns presented at the past two workshops. Steve Hammond, WRT, explained that 'the map responds to the comments presented at the workshops in November, December, and January, as well as to the City's existing agreement with the County in terms of the annexation of the land from the County which has been designated as business park uses. The main goals of the plan are to try to create a mixed used community, that lis well integrated with both the natural systems and the existing urban systems and come up with a community that has a distinctive identity that relates well and complements the existing City of Dublin but which also creates a viable urban community that will be a place that the residents and workers can live and work. The idea is to keep the higher density in the lower, flatter areas with the development density decreasing in response to the natural conditions such as slopes, ridgelines, and geotechnical constrains. Starting with the Land Use Component of the Plan, employment should be down along the freeway with the residential area above and away from the freeway protecting them from visual and noise concerns. The County property south of Gleason Avenue, the Santa Rita Jail, and CHP facility has been designated as business park. The northern most part of the County's property has been designated government institutional in response to the existing uses such as Sheriff's facility, Highway Patrol Training facility, and proposed uses for other @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@* CM- Vol 10 - 52 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 government uses in the area. Directly east of Tassajara has been designated as office space; either side of Fallon Road would be a major regional commercial center; and to the east of that would be an industrial park extending all the way to the eastern boundary of the study area. The plan is structured around several community/commercial centers. The largest will be along Tassajara and will be called the Town Center. The Town Center is meant to be a commercial center for the East Dublin area. It has a dual orientation with the north-south orientation along Tassajara being the high density commercial center including mixed use development such as high rises and office/commerical. Tassajara will be an extremely busy corridor so it would provide commercial uses along that corridor. Extending east-west, it would be more pedestrian oriented, more neighborhood oriented and provide pedestrian access and transit access from the transit spine. In addition to the main Town Center, there will be three village centers. One is called Doolan Village and would be located in Doolan Canyon in the mid canyon.area. It would provide daily services to the residents in this area. The second area is the Fallon Village which is located at the intersection of the transit spine and Fallon Road. The third would be at the north end of Tassajara and be called Tassajara Village. It would serve the area to the north. The idea is to have residential high density around the town center with it decreasing as you move to the rural, open space area. The same happens on a smaller scale with each of the village centers with higher density uses clustered around the community centers and then gradually decreasing in density away from them. The actual use of this land designated rural/residential/open space still needs to be worked out. Park uses have been provided throughout the area and are consistent with the City's Standards which specifies 5 acres/1000 people. There is a total of 272 acres of park land. It is fairly evenly split between neighborhood parks and community parks. There are two community parks designated. The largest, which is about 85 acres, is located just off Fallon and adjacent to the transit spine for easy access. It would be the major sports park and will have the most intensive type of facilities, as well as being located central to the densest portion of the developments and provide easy access. It is also located along open space corridors to provide for convenient pedestrian and bicycle access to the park. The second community park has been lOcated up to the north between Fallon and Tassajara Road. This is a more rugged area. The concept on this park is not finally developed at this point but the idea would be that it is less intensely developed. Neighborhood parks have been located central to the various development areas and distributed in a manner so that they relate to the density of @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@* CM- Vol 10 - 53 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 populatiOn in the area. The neighborhood parks have also been located adjacent to one of the open space corridors. There are also a number of smaller parks which have been referred to as urban plazas within the urban center. They are needed to serve as a focal point where people can gather. The Village Centers would give identity where people can come to shop and work and meet with other people and sit and enjoy their neighborhood, while the open space in the drainage corridors will be used for vegetation, pedestrian trails, bicycles, and equestrian movement. The Circulation System has two major east-west corridors, the major one being the Dublin Boulevard extension with the second being the extension of 7th Street if it is extended. There is a third east-west corridor that starts at the BART station and is referred to as the "Transit Spine." The Transit Spine would be a two lane road for local traffic but it would also be a dedicated transit corridor with the possible future development of a .bus line to connect neighborhoods with the BART Station. A light rail might be added later. The north-south arterials are Tassajara Road, Fallon Road, and Doolan Road. Tassajara Road would be a major road to come into the town center to shop, while Fallon Road would have limited access. There is an imbalance of jobs/housing as it relates to this plan. There would be 8,000 more jobs than housing available. 5,000 units would be needed to balance the 'employment created in the area. Schools were placed so as not to impact the prime development areas, but schools do require good access roads and flat land. I high school, 2 junior high schools, and 8 elementary schools have been planned. Commissioner Zika expressed his concern that the high school and one of the junior highs had been placed at the two busiest streets. Mr. Hammond responded that it was hard to place the high school and not take away prime development land. He further stated that high schools are typically located at one arterial access in that the students do drive to school. Commissioner Zika still felt the placement of high school was bad and would create a need for two police officers each day when school was getting out. Commissioner Burnham felt the high school should be near fast food places. Commissioner Zika felt that there should be a buffer between the high school and TasSajara. Commissioner Burnham questioned what was meant by a transit lane. @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@* CM- Vol 10 - 54 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 Mr. Hammond responded that it would be a two lane road carrying traffic in each direction and it would be a local road for local traffic which could have parking along the road. Commissioner North questioned whether 7th Street terminated at Hacienda Drive. He questioned why it goes to the left. Mayor Snyder responded that the jail was there. Cm. Burton felt that prime commercial land was being used for the high school which would produce too many cars at the wrong time and it will cause problems. He felt it should be moved to the east closer to the transit corridor. Cm. Burton felt that two lanes on Tassajara Road was not a suitable size road with people using it to come to BART or to use it as a commute road. He felt that four to six lanes should be planned for the future. Mr. Hammond responded that the size of the roads was determined due to the recommendations of the traffic consultant. Cm. Moffatt inquired if the dark lines on the map represented potential roads. Mr. Hammond responded that the dark lines were the outlines of the development area. Cm. Moffatt expressed concern over the traffic generated near the elementary school areas. He further questioned how the two commercial areas of Dublin were going to be tied together other than by Dublin Boulevard. He further questioned whether there had been any discussion with the Army in regards to future land uses in the Camp Parks area. Cm. Jeffery asked for an example of the acreage for the neighborhood parks. Mr. Hammond responded that they would be 4 to 6 acres in size. Cm. Jeffery expressed concern over the road sizes. Mr. Hammond responded that the number of lanes had been determined, but not the actual width of the roads. Cm. Jeffery felt that the location of schools near main arterials was not all that bad. John DiManto questioned the phasing of the General Plan. He felt that they must have an idea of the phasing in order to address the economic portion of the planning. Mr. Hammond responded that the land uses had to first be determined. Zev Kahn explained that there had been multiple meetings of the City's Task Force for the Master Park Plan. In those meetings some of the @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@.@.@.@.@.@.@. CM- Vol 10 - 55 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 concerns expressed included: the increase in population from 25,000 to 85,000; the present Sports Park, which is leased land, may disappear to 1-580 development; a distinct need for large sports parks to accommodate soccer and baseball fields; a need for a centralized community center with a Senior Center, a Teen Meeting Facility, and swimming facilities; a need for open space with trail systems; that West Dublin would be developed differently With limitations for parks; and that East Dublin was the City's best development opportunity. Marjorie LeBar expressed the need for better linkage between the open space corridors and the need for a dedicated bike lane near the high school area. Carolyn Morgan felt that condominiums in Doolan Canyon were not consistent with the rural residential lifestyle. People could complain about flies from the horses. She felt comments from the residents of Doolan Canyon were not being listened to. Ted Fairfield felt that the high densities were not realistic. He felt market conditions, not maps, should determine land uses. There were not as many dwelling units to share the cost of the infrastructure. He felt that there is a general shortage of single family housing. Some areas shown on the map as rural/open space could be developed as single family housing. He had doubts about the idea of developing the sides of hills rather than the top of the hill. Leave the side hills open and put more units on the hill. He felt that too much was taken from Dublin Ranch Properties for the use of a high school, a junior high school and open space. He felt that there is no advantage to taking away the development of houses. Mr. Hammond pointed out that there had to be a 1/2 mile radius from the Eagle's nest for its protection. Don Redgwick, upon whose property the eagles had chosen to homestead, stated that the "protected" land accounted for 600 acres. Since the area being preserved was quite large, it might be a good location for a community park. He felt that it would create a problem as a location for the high school. He felt a better location for the high school would be adjacent to one of the planned community parks~ so that there could be joint use of the facilities, perhaps an amphitheater. Bobby Foscilina felt the~ map did not represent the public input. She felt the Council had been disenchanted with the plans and that was why they had been thrown out. The impact on the roads was not acceptable. They were trying to put too much density in slide prone terrain. The canyons were narrow so the creek beds would have to be widened, which would take away from the natural state. A member of the audience felt that Fallon Road was critical as an expressway. It would be a continuation from Bollinger Canyon and would be a linkage as a regional facility rather than as a community facility. He felt that the transit spine was good, but that it should be continued to the east. He felt that there was a need for a six lane expressway. CM- Vol 10 - 56 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 Zev Kahn felt that the community park should be moved northwest so that the community park and the community center could be close together for easy access and would draw the population more to the City's center area. Georgean Vonheeder stated that the needs of all of Dublin would be part of the Parks Master Plan. Unfortunately, in the past in-lieu fees were accepted instead of development of parks. She felt that the City was lacking passive parks. Further, there is a need for two major facilities that could accommodate a pool, competitive soccer and baseball fields, and facilities for seniors. She felt fields can be revenue generators, but that she did not want to see traffic in residential areas. Major facilities, not neighborhood parks, are needed in this area. A Doolan Canyon resident pointed out that the site of two of the schools put them in the path of the airport runway. Mr. Hammond responded that they were 3,500 ft from the north edge of the runaway which was the standard safety distance. An audience member felt that even if they moved the schools another 1000 feet away from the runway that it could make it safer. Brad Chapman of the Dublin Soccer League felt it was a mistake to spread the fields out. He felt that there should be one large area where the tournaments could be conducted. Mr. Hammond responded that this is a general plan and that the Dublin Master Parks Plan would determine the actual placement of the parks. Members of the Parks and Recreation Commission felt that they were not seeing on the Land Use Map what they wanted on the Master Parks Plan. The location, size, useage were very different. They felt that they were not tying this area to the present Dublin, but that it would end up being three sections rather than one community. Commissioner Burnham asked the present size of the Dublin Sports Park, the Pleasanton Sports Park and the two parks planned in East Dublin. Dublin Sports Park is 22 acres, Pleasanton Sports Park is 120 acres, and the two in East Dubln would be 85 acres and 55 acres. Steve Jones felt that the high school should be moved over to the canyon to the east. He felt that the 85 acre park was great, the 55 acre park okay, but he felt that there was a need for one more 85 acre park to be used for competitive soccer fields and little league baseball. The question of where the money was going to come from to pay for the parks was raised with an estimate of the 85 acre park costing $3 million. Carolyn Morgan suggested that a Transfer Development Rights (TDR) Program be used. @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@.@*@*@*@.@*@,@.@*@*@*@*@.@.@.@.@.@.@.@.@.@.@.@.@.@. CM- Vol 10 - 57 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 Marjorie LeBar expressed her favor of small urban parks with big density in the shopping and employment areas, but she felt that there should be a place in that area where people could "blow off steam" and walk the kids, a few pocket areas in the downtown with perhaps a community garden. Mr. Redgwick felt that the community park should be moved north closer to where the eagle's nest is located with perhaps a small lake. John DiManto of Dublin Land Company stated his opposition to the location of the high school. He felt it would create a high security impact with lots of accidents. He felt a major intersection was an unsafe place for a high school. He feared that the transit spine could turn into an area of gang war as had happened in San Jose. He wanted to see an increase in retail/commercial. He felt there should be a variety of uses, not just professional office. The market should dictate the uses. A little lake along the retail area which would be mixed uses would be good. Jim Steadman representing the Lin Family felt the plan is well developed and the land use concepts are appropriate. He did feel that there was too much land used for the business park and that the area should have more retail/commercial. There is a great need to generate taxes for the City. As to the traffic circulation, he felt the plan would result in a lot of traffic on Tassajara and that there were not enough lanes. He felt that there should be plenty of circulation available so that there would be no congestion along the transit spine. Don't under plan the traffic. He felt that the open space corridor was not being utilized. The urban plazas would be expensive to maintain and he was concerned about public safety. They should be carefully designed in the project. Diane Lowart, Recreation Director, reiterated that the Parks Master Plan envisioned two major facilities in the East Dublin area with one being a major community park which would accommodate team sports while the other community park would be more of a civic nature with possibly a lake, community center, theater. They will be working closely with the consultant to identify needs and alternatives to the urban parks. Adolph Martinelli of Alameda County felt that the annexation agreement with the City allows retail/commercial uses as a vested part of the entitlement and that the area on the map should be extended to pick up the proposed BART station. Commissioner North expressed concern that only one road connects Dublin to the East Dublin area. He felt we would be depending too much on Dublin Boulevard making ~East Dublin a part of Dublin. He felt that there was a need for more roads into Dublin proper. He also questioned how the number of jobs in the business park had been determined. Mr. Hammond responded that there would be a more definite plan later. Commissioner North felt that the measure of the parks did not match the community need. He felt that East Dublin would be sitting out as a tail with only one road connecting it to the rest of Dublin. @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@* CM- Vol 10 - 58 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 Mr. Hammond responded that they hoped that the 7th Street connection could be extended later. Commissioner Rafanelli expressed concern about the location of the high school, that the traffic would be unbearable, and that there should not be a concentration of high school students by the business/office area. George Zika felt that it was important that East Dublin not become a divided City. He likes the neighborhood park concept because not every child would participate in competitive sports. There is a need for community parks, but we must be careful with the location of the parks. He felt that Mape Park was in a bad location. Commissioner North questioned whether the plans had been planned along property lines. Mr. Hammond responded that they had not been planned based on property lines. Commissioner Burnham felt a piece of the pie was missing specifically the land from the Alameda County line over to the SP track and questioned what is happening to it and who owns the property. Mayor Snyder answered that the Federal Government owned that particular property and they were not interested in negotiating. Commissioner Burnham stated that there was a need for an expressway. He liked the idea of a focal point like a lake downtown, but questioned whether the idea was feasible. Shops and transit could be put around it. He further reiterated that Doolan Canyon should remain open space. Cm. Burton felt that the map should be extended so that a sense of togetherness can be shown. There is a need to relate to the whole City. He also expressed the fact that the map was trying to define specific uses too early. The market place will determine the use. A broader brush should be used with the area close to the freeway being designated commercial allowing the opportunity for perhaps a large hotel complex. If we start with little pieces, it could become too broken up. He expressed a need for more access. The map should be extended into Dublin and other areas. He felt that the streets as planned would be overwhelmed too soon. They should have easements wide enough to expand the streets. The congestion and size of the streets should be re- examined. Cm. Moffatt expressed the need to tie the two portions of Dublin together. Another road into the eastern portion was needed. There should be a flow of the commercial areas. He felt that this was the first step, but there is a need for more discussions. What is needed and what is desired needs to be discussed further. Cm. Jeffery felt the high school should be moved off one of the major arterials, but that ~ it not be placed too far into the residential community. The mix of housing was good, but more housing in the rural @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@* CM- Vol 10 - 59 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 areas should be an option. There is a need to tie the current section with the new section. There is also a need of County support in the high density housing around the BART station. The frontage along the freeway which is designated office, should allow the market to determine its use. The street sizes should be oversized to allow for expansion in the future. Mayor Snyder felt that we should maximize the rural residential/open space area. The small urban park plazas in the.high density area can be determined by site development review and not have the City Council responsible. In 1970 the enrollment for Dublin High School was 2,640 students with the current enrollment of 754-793 students. The new high school may not be needed for quite some time. He expressed concern about the transit spine that it needs to be wide enough and provide free flowing lanes. He suggested that perhaps a public use facility could be combined with an elementary school. He expressed concern about the length of time for this process. Let's not drag this out forever. Commissioner Burnham questioned whether the property owners were told what they can build and where they can build. Mr. Hammond acknowledged that there are areas where there are differences of opinion. The areas above 30% are clear areas. Commissioner Burnham again stated his concern that landowners say they want to do it one way while the map is telling them they can't do that. He feels that we are blowing smoke up Doolan Canyon. Commissioner North was concerned about the low student body count and suggested that the high school site be used as a community park for now with a high school being built there as needed perhaps 10 years from now. Cm. Burton questioned the timeframe of when the people would be able to start building. Brenda Gillarde responded that the General Plan Amendment should be ready by the end of this year or early next year. Once the adoption of the plan and approval of the annexation has been completed, ground breaking could take place the end of 1992. Larry Tong indicated that ground breaking in 1991 may be too optimistic; it may be a best case time-frame. Carolyn Morgan stated that the report has geotechnically unstable areas. She further questioned how the City can be together if it is not shown on the map. An audience member commented that there is already a dam on the Lin property. Brenda Gillarde stated that the next step would be taking the concepts of the map and the comments of the Council, Commission, and the Public and translating them into general plan policies and text for the @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@* CM- Vol 10 - 60 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991 Specific Plan. The preliminary General Plan Amendment and SPecific Plan will be brought back %o %~e Commission and Council in July. Cm Burton suggested that an overlay of the changes be used to keep the perspective of the changes 'rather than creating a whole new map to incorporate the changes. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:18 p.m. Clerk @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@* CM- Vol 10 - 61 Joint Study Session Meeting February 14, 1991